Folding tables with pivotable legs are advantageous for many purposes as the bulk of the table can be greatly reduced when it is to be stored away or transported from one location to another. Such tables are typically used in situations where tables need to be set up only temporarily although folding tables may also be used on a continuing basis.
Wood or metal table tops require installation of hinges or other similar hardware fixtures in order to form a pivotable coupling between the support legs and the table top. This involves emplacement of a number of screws or other fasteners. Such operations complicate and slow the assembly of such tables and thus add significantly to the costs of manufacturing the tables.
The conventional hinge couplings or the like also often result in an undesirable weak and unreliable attachment of the support legs to the table top. Conventional folding tables frequently display a lack of rigidity and tend to be subject to malfunction and breakage in the region of the pivot couplings. Efforts to relieve these problems by providing a more massive construction, stronger hardware and more screws or other fasteners further increase the cost of the product and undesirably add to the weight of the conventional folding table.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.